We're Dead Anyways
by Probably-Not-Morgan-Freeman
Summary: It wasn't like it was planned. She didn't plan to stumble upon them, and she didn't plan to fall in love with him. She didn't plan how much it would hurt when they were no longer together. Starts at FARM, Later at Alexandria.
1. Chapter 1

**I own nothing but Ellie and Gerty**

 ** **The Sisters****

The heat rose from the asphalt, shimmering above it and making it hard for the blonde haired Eleanor to see anything without her sunglasses on, so with a quick movement, she pulled them down from atop her head, and onto her face, covering her eyes from the blaring sunlight. Behind her, twelve year old Gertrude let out the fifth moan that hour.  
"Why can't we just get a car?" She grumbled, dragging her feet. She did this because it was her twenty-six year old sisters biggest pet peeve. With a grumble, Ellie turned around, walking backward and motioning to the empty highway they were walking alongside.

"Wow. Look at all our options, Gerty. Oh! I really like that mustang-"  
"No need to be a smart ass, dickhead." Gerty snapped. Usually, she was a well mannered girl, but heat could really change a person.  
The barely taller sister grinned, turning back around and adjusting the bag on her shoulder, and then the bag on her back. Ellie would have been pretty if it wasn't for the grime that covered her. She was blessed with large bright blue eyes. The past few months had reeked havoc on the extra weight she had, so she was now skinny and fragile. It was a body she would have killed for before the whole 'zombies taking over the world' thing but now it was just a deadly reminder of how bad things had become.

Gerty, just now entering her awkward pre-teen years, had yet to fill out anywhere. She thought to herself often about how she looked like a tree trunk, and how it was unfair that Ellie got to look like an hour-glass. Ellie already had the pretty eyelashes, she shouldn't get everything. But she kept this thought to herself most of the time, not wanting to anger the only family she had left in the entire world.

Ellie stopped, reaching her hand up to adjust the tattered tank top falling down her shoulder, revealing the giant, realistic roses tattooed onto her shoulder, and she gazed onward, wandering her next course of action. Suddenly, the long empty highway had formed into a hill, and Ellie let out a long string of curses. Hill meant anything could be lurking. And by anything, it meant Zombies, or worse, assholes with guns. Her head, dizzy and uncertain, felt muddled. It had been days since she'd last eaten. The little food she had she gave to Gerty.

Reaching into her pocket and pulling out her tiny pistol, she didn't know its name, she wasn't ever the gun type, she checked and made sure it was fully loaded before trudging up the hill slowly, gun drawn and at the ready. But when they reached the top, they saw a car graveyard.

Car graveyards were an important factor to consider in every day life as a survivor of the zombie apocalypse. They could contain hidden treasures, but at the same time, they could hide any existing threats. She pushed her sunglasses back atop her head, giving her a clearer view of the car graveyard.

Halfway through the mass of cars, Gertrude screamed. Ellie, who was only a few steps away, turned around. A rotting, gnarled hand was gripping her younger sisters ankle, keeping her from any attempt at running or getting way. Gerty was clutching her own knife, but had fallen onto the ground in her struggle to get away.

"Ellie, help!" Gerty cried out, tugging at her leg as the thing snapped its teeth. With great urgency, Ellie aimed and fired, missing the head. She reaimed and hit it the second time. She was never a good shoot. Her hands always shook uncontrollably in the moments she needed them steady.

"Whew." Ellie said, smiling down at her frightened sister and tugging her up. Gerty immediately buried herself in her sisters arms, squeezing her tightly. She knew better than to cry. Crying took to much time, and would end up getting them killed. After a moment, she picked her bag up off the ground and walked ahead of her older sister.

Ellie, still standing there, grimaced at the dead body. That had been someones wife. Someones daughter. Now it was just a dead blob on road, and would only rot away. It was a horrible fate. One she would never wish on anyone.

 _But there are worst fates_ the thought in the back of her head sang, almost like a lullaby. A lullaby she knew to well.

"Ellie?" Gerty called out suddenly, her voice urgent and desperate.

With a sigh, Ellie pulled away from her thoughts and turned to her sister. A large Semi truck had been over turned on the road, but coming around the sides was the dead. Dragging their feet and groaning. A great imitation of what Gertrude had been doing just moments before.

"Shit!" The older blonde hissed out, running forward to grab her sister and shoving her behind her back. But they were coming from that direction too. They were every where. She mentally counted the number of bullets she had. Two had been used moments before. That left 8. But she needed two, in case their was no escape, she wasn't going to let Gerty or her become one of those things. Six. She could only take out 6 of the 15 Walkers trudging slowly towards her.

With another curse, she took aim, trying to steady her shaky hands.

Growing up, their father had been a hunter, priding himself in his catches of giant bucks. He wanted a son, but had received Ellie instead, but that didn't stop him from living his dreams until one was born. It wasn't long after she had entered 6th grade that he had taken her hunting with him for the first time. She actually considered that as one of her better memories with her father. Decked in heavy coats and bright orange they had sat outside in a tree stand for hours, just sitting in quite. That was, until she slipped and fell, causing the bone in her arm to break through her skin. Her father was more upset about the deer than his daughter, had shot the deer before it ran, and then picked up Elias. He carried her back to the car and went back for the deer.  
That wasn't the last time he took her with him, and because of that, she had learned how to shot a gun. But shooting a deer was a lot different then a Walker.

So the first time she ever shot one was the moment her and Gerty were cornered. She saw the gun laying their, shining in the morning sun, and scooped it up.

She hit the closest ones shoulder. and it staggered a step back before taking another dragged one forward.

Five. She aimed again, and it hit, sending it toppling to the ground quickly.  
That left fourteen zombies and four bullets.

Gerty was gripping the back of her shirt now. "Gerty." Elias said steadily. "We're going to climb on to that semi. We just need to run. Follow me. Don't let go, and don't let them touch you."  
She felt her sister nod against her backpack, and then ran forward, one hand pointing the gun and the other reaching back to grab her sisters shirt.

The sisters reached the truck without a major problem, and Elias had actually managed to shoot two zombies to the ground, before turning around and shoving her little sister up with all her strength. She wasn't very strong, but Gerty wasn't very large either. With a quick glance over her shoulder she ripped off her bags, tossing them to the top of the vehicle and then jumping up to grab the top of the red cab.

With a heavy breath, a jump, and a grunt, she pulled herself up, her foot barely lifting up as they reached out for her. They still weren't high enough. Her blue eyes darted around, and she decided their next move would be climbing atop the metal cylinder attached to the cab. It was higher up and it would be hard to get Gerty up there, but it was worth it.  
She ushered her sister over there, jumping over the window and tossing the bags onto the twelve year old. It made her heavier, but they weren't things she considered leaving. She struggled to get her up, and then jumped, gripping the edge and pulling her own body up. She crawled forward for a few seconds, and then flopped down.

"That was the biggest work out I've had in weeks." She laughed to her sister breathlessly. Gerty didn't see the humor in the situation and glared down at her. "Lighten up, Gertrude. You only live once." She let out another snort of laughter, pushing herself up turning to examine the monsters below. They were all standing at the sides, beating onto the metal tin stretching to reach them, but the two girls were well out of reach. And in that moment of realization, that they would live another day, maybe even week, her arm slid over her sisters shoulder, bringing her to her chest and hugging her tightly.

They sat their only for a half hour when their salvation came, driving a black sedan, its windows shining in the late afternoon light. Elias and Gertrude shoved themselves up, screaming and jumping atop of the semi, their arms flailing and their voices rough. It stopped only feet from where the girls where, blocked from coming any closer by a large white mini van.

And out came their saviors.

A man in a in a plain white shirt and jeans, and another, darker skinned man with hair shaved down to the skull.  
"Help us, please!" Gertrude screamed as the hesitated, still standing behind the doors of their car, as if ready to jump in and run for it.

The cop pulled out his gun first, aiming and firing, clearing the side of the six zombies that had wandered over. And it took seconds for Ellie to lay down on her stomach, helping her sister roll over the side and safely to the ground, the bags still strapped to her. The short haired man ran to the side, his arms out for Ellie to slide into, and she did, not thinking of anything other than surviving the next few moments. The Walkers were now sauntering around the side, the remaining 8 sauntering over to them, arms reaching out even though they were still feet away.

Ellie pulled her own gun out, wasting her last two bullets on one walker. She would surely need to work on her aim. But the two men made quick work of the remaining walkers, and in the after math, stood in the hot sun, staring at Eleanor and Gertrude, who stood uneasily feet away.

"My name's Rick, and this is Shane." The cop said, pointing towards the shaven man. Ellie didn't care, really. She wanted to hit the road. It wouldn't be long before more Walkers showed up from all the shooting. And she was now feeling incredibly nauseous and dizzy. She didn't regret giving her portion of the food to Gerty, but she was starting to see it hadn't been the best idea as she struggled to stay standing, her adrenaline now leaving her body, giving it a chance to remember how exhausted it was. "We heard shooting from our camp and wanted to see what was happening."

Ellie took a few steps back. "I'm Eleanor, and this is my little sister, Gertrude." She said uneasily, the gun in her hand falling to the ground, and her following in pursuit. All the energy spent protecting Gertrude left her week, and her vision black. The last thing she heard was her younger sister screaming her name out in fear.


	2. Chapter 2

**I own nothing but Ellie and Gerty**

 ** **The Broken Group****

When she came to, she was laying on a couch in a very cookie-cutter living room. The lights above her still surged with incredible vibrancy even though electricity for most places had gone off months ago. Her head was still foggy, and slightly ached from what she assumed was caused by the fall.

"Ellie." Gerty said, rushing forward and wrapping her arms around her elder sister. "Ellie, I thought you died." She whispered, she sounded as if she was on the verge of tears, but she knew she shouldn't cry. So she didn't. Ellie pushed her back examining the younger girl for any damage that could have been done to her.  
"Are you okay?" She whispered, her blue eyes wide, trying to speak so only her little sister could hear. Gerty nodded her head, her own blue eyes darting to the men in door way.

"They didn't do anything to me." She swore, a faint smile on her mouth. "They even gave me pancakes for breakfast."  
With a quick blink of shock and confusion, she turned to the men, Rick and Shane. "How long?" She inquired, trying to push herself up.  
"Shane, why don't you run to the kitchen and get Hershel?" Rick said. The other man shot him a disgruntled look, and walked past the couch and through a white swinging door. He walked around the couch, sitting on an old recliner next to her and leaning forward, his elbows on his knees and his hands clasping each other. "About a day. Don't worry, we took care of the girl for you."

Ellie smiled, running a hand through Gertys tangled mess. She was in one piece and alive. That was all she needed to know. Gertrude smiled up at Ellie, positioning herself on the floor next to her older sisters feet. "Thank you so much. I don't know what I could ever do to repay this deb-"  
Rick held up a hand, stopping me as the kitchen door opened. "You don't owe us anything. We were just helping out." But she wasn't listening, the smell of heaven wafted to her nose, and she let out a content sigh, her stomach gurgling in response. It only reminded her of how hungry she was.

An old man came around the corner, a plate stacked with pancakes and apple slices. He set it on top coffee table infront of her, handing her a fork. She didn't even wait a second before she slid onto the floor next to Gerty and consumed the food with startling quickness. The old man let out a laugh.  
"Ellie is it?" He said after a moment, and she puller herself away from the food with dismay. Wiping at the syrup on her cheek, she nodded.

"My name is Hershel Greene, I own this farm that you're on. Rick said his group found you and saved you, but you fainted. Now, your sister says that you hadn't eaten in a few days, and that you hadn't drank anything in a long while." He raised an eyebrow at her, and she gave another sheepish nod. "I'm just a vet, but I know what dehydration and starvation look like when I see it. And that fall gave you a nasty bump on your head. We feared that you had a concussion and wouldn't wake up. We closed it easy, with the use of a couple stitches."  
Gertrude nodded, as if to confirm it. "While you were sleeping,"she added almost silently "they gave you water and broth."

Hershel nodded to confirm this. "If we hadn't, you surly would have died. You can't just neglect your human needs, or you will die. And then where will your sister be?"  
"I...I don't know." Ellie whispered, her eyes darting around the room. A fresh wave a shame overwhelmed her and she froze. Why had she done something so incredibly stupid?

Because she hadn't wanted Gerty to experience hunger. She was older and stronger, and it had been her job to make sure Gerty was safe and full and hunger free.

"You're young, but not to young to be doing such foolish things. She needs you." Hershel sighed, and then stood up. "I was informed by the others that a tent has been set up for you outside, so you'll be sleeping there tonight. You'll be fine, as long as you keep drinking that water. I'll send Maggie out with some bandages and alcohol to clean your head wound." And with that, the old man turned to leave, heading back into the kitchen.  
Rick stood up, his hands in his pockets. "I hope you don't mind, but since you were pretty much out of it, Carol took your and Gertrude's filthy clothes and washed and folded them, with Gertrude's help, of course." He pointed to my bags that were sitting on the floor, the clothing folded and sitting outside of it. "Hershel is being kind enough to let us use their showers, so why don't you take a shower, and then come join me on the porch?" He pointed out the bathroom door, and then he was gone, leaving Ellie sitting on the floor, staring at her pancakes as Gerty shifted uncomfortably behind her.  
She took another slow bite out of her food before turning to her sister. "So...what do you think?"  
Gerty looked up from the line she was tracing on the floor with her finger, cocking her head in thought. "I think they're good people. The Carol lady...she's was very kind to me, and so were the others. They even gave me candy...and you know how rare that is."

Nodding slowly, Ellie scooped the rest of the pancakes into her mouth, handing the plate to her younger sister and asking her to return it and thank them for the food. She nodded and skittered off into the kitchen. In seconds it was filled with laughter, Gerty's clear bird like laugh twinkling underneath the cracks. With one last look towards the door, she walked forward, grabbing the first pants, under garments, and shirt she could find. She reached for her boots and then made her way to the bathroom.

WDWDWDWDWDWD

It was a godsend. The hot water had coursed over her skin, making her feel that she had never once been clean since this had all started. She couldn't even remember her last real one. It must have been ages ago. The most Gerty and her had done in weeks was run already dirty rags over any body parts covered in blood.

The shower made her almost feel human again. But human blood was something you could wash away, but never truly be rid of.

But once she was dressed in her shorts and yet another ragged shirt, with her boots snug on her feet, she was wishing to still be in there, even though the tub was now ringed in filth. With a deep breath, she stepped out onto the porch, her hair still slightly damp and waving down her back in blonde tangles, and her face pulled into a look of complete concentration. They swept over the layout of the place quickly, landing on the Rick, leaning against the railing, a long, brown haired woman next to him, peering out into a field, where a young boy was sitting with what looked like Gerty.  
Ellie's heart swelled with the fact that Gertrude had made a friend. The older sister hadn't seen her so laid back since before the world went to shit. It was a comforting feeling, that their was normalcy in this little farm, hidden from the raging war against the living and the dead.

Walking over slowly, hands tucked into her back pockets, she gave the couple a small smile when they looked over at her. The brown haired woman pushed herself away from the railing, a smile on her face that didn't actually reach her eyes, but still polite as ever, she took a few steps forward.

"So, you're the girl that's been crashing on the couch." The older woman said, that smile looking more strained. Ellie held out a scarred hand, and she held out her own. "I'm Rick's wife, Lori. Here, let me get Carl over here. Might as well introduce you two, so that he doesn't think you're an intruder." She smiled, waving over her son, who walked over quickly, despite the disapproving look of his mother. When he reached us, he climbed the steps uncertainly, darting past me to stand next to his mother.  
"Hi." Ellie said, a real smile on her face at the look the boy was giving her. She had always been a fan of kids. If it wasn't for the monsters lurking everywhere, she probably would have had plenty of them. But that was a different time, and now her legs would forever be closed to the reproduction aspect of it.

"Carl, manners." Lori said, a small laugh, she gave a soft squeeze on his shoulder, and he stepped forward slowly, hand out.

"I'm Carl."

"Hey handsome, I'm Ellie, " Her grin widened at his blush, and he looked up at his mother, who was also smiling. Rick reached a hand up patting on his own shoulder.

Lori looked at the watch on her wrist and then sighed, "Sorry, but me and Carl have to go get his medicine. It was nice meeting you. I'll see ya around." She gave one last smile before walking into the house, Gerty gave her blonde sister a quick smile before following them into the house.

Rick pushed himself away from the railing and went to head down the steps of the porch. "A week ago, almost two weeks, Carl was shot, almost died. Ever since, Lori has been incredibly protective. But don't worry, she wont aim for your throat if you make a wrong move. He's not supposed to be running around like that, shouldn't even be outta bed, but dang is he stubborn. Gets that from Lori." He laughed. "So if you see him horse playin, make sure to stop him. He doesn't need to be tearin' those stitches."

It took a second for Ellie to realize the throat comment was a joke. It had been so long since she had real human contact with someone other than her sister that she assumed her ability to understand social interaction was starting to get rather dull. She hoped she wouldn't make a fool of herself, and her stomach clinched in nervousness. She was so easily trusting of them that she felt confused. Her main rule was always be wary. Why couldn't she follow it around them?

"Look, about you being here. The group voted on a temporary stay. Didn't want to put that sweet girl of yours out there. She looks a lot like the girl we lost, so they have a soft spot for her." Rick smiled at her uneasily, testing the waters for the girls reaction. "So you work, and you don't screw up, you can stay. But the moment everything goes sour, you're out of here."

Ellie wanted to hug him, but she settled for nodded and agreeing a thousand times promising a thousand times.

Within a few steps they were upon a fire surrounded by five people, chowing down on something that looked a little to squirly for Ellie's tastes. With a distasteful look, she took a nervous step toward them, right at Ricks side. He cleared his throat, and every gaze turned to her. In her high school days and her college years, she had never been incredibly gifted at public speaking. Once she had actually thrown up all the corn dogs she had jammed into her pie hole right before an important speech. It didn't end well for her. Or the poor kids in the front row.

She felt that same feeling building up in her stomach, causing her to cast a wary glance around the group. _ _That would be a GREAT first impression__ _,_ she thought _,_ _ _let me just vomit all over them.__

Back in reality, she only recognized one face, and it was Shane's. He gave her a warm smile, but Ellie's goose bump shivers went down her back. He stood up, walking over and patting her on the shoulder. "Hey, Killer." He stood at her other side, his hand resting on her upper back. "Has anyone ever told you that you weigh about as much as a full grown bear?"

With a raised eyebrow she looked at him. "Sorry, I guess I'll have to lay off on all the eating I'm doing." This earned a chuckle from him, and her shoulders relaxed. Maybe it wouldn't be so hard getting along with everyone. As long as they're all like Shane.

The rest of the group was a rather odd combination. A black man, a frail older woman, an Asian, and a pretty blonde. It sounded like one of those cheesy, long winded jokes about a bar. They all introduced themselves, being friendly, and asking how her how she was feeling, but that was all they said, before turning back to their meal and conversing softly.

Shane nodded his head, a smile still on his mouth, before going back to his own food.

With a sigh, Rick turned away from the group. "Sorry 'bout that." He almost whispered, putting his hand lightly on my shoulder and leading me towards an RV surrounded by a random arrangement of tents. "The day Carl was shot was also the day Carol's daughter was spooked into running away. She's been lost ever since. Moral has been low, and every one's exhausted from searching. They'll be better in the morning, But still, it'll take some time for them to warm up. Suffered a couple icy glares myself." With a warm smile he led her towards an RV. Climbing down the ladder of it was an older man with a slight pot bellied and an actually attractive, and what she assumed, red necked man, not to much older than herself standing next to it, a cross bow pulled over his shoulder.

Rick called out to them, and the older one waved, but they both walked over, slowly and tiredly.  
The older one, Dale, introduced himself warmly, before grabbing Rick by the shoulder and walking towards the fire, inquiring about some part for the RV. It left her and the red neck together, the awkward silence over whelming because neither of the two said anything. She waited, thinking he would, but all he did was stare over at the trees in the distance, fiddling with the large cross bow over his shoulder.

"Eleanor. Well, I prefer Ellie. And you must be?" She said finally, holding her hand out to shake his, his eyes darted back to hers but he only gave her a cold, grey eyed stare, his eyes slightly narrowed. _'_ _ _okay then'__ she thought, pulling her hand down and wiping it on her tattered grey shirt, as if that had been her plan the entire time.

"Daryl," The man said shortly , "that's a grandmother name." Was his only response, adjusting the bow on his shoulder, as if he were nervous of Ellie, even though she was barely half his size.  
She gave an uncaring shrug, her blonde hair making a halo around her face. "Better than a rednecks name." This called his eyes to narrow at her. Before he could muster up a response, she turned around, walking towards the tents hoping to find a familiar one. "Nice meetin ya!" She called out, waving her hand behind her.

Leaving him staring at her from behind, utterly speechless.

But she was cut off from her thoughts when she rounded the corner, bumping right into Gerty as she poked her head around a tree.

Ellie and the younger sister both let out a dismayed squeak, shoving each other away in shock.

"What are you doing?" Ellie hissed, rubbing at the red spot where her sister had whacked her in the shoulder. For a malnourished 9 year old, she hit with the strength of man.

" _ _Better than a rednecks name.__ _"_ Gerty mimicked in an uncanny impersonation of her sister, her deep blue eyes alight laughter. "You're such a jerk!"  
Ellie narrowed her icy blue gaze, frowning at her younger sister before reaching up to pop her on the back of the head gently. "Mind your own business." She turned to stand up and walk back towards the campfire.

Gerty laughed following behind, a skip to her step. "You have always been so terrible at conversation." She giggled.

A small smile almost forced its way onto Ellie's lips. "Remember when I got pulled over for running a stop sign? And tried to flirt my way out of it?"

Gerty laughed again. "You were a horrible driver too."


	3. Chapter 3

**I own nothing but Ellie and Gerty**

Useless

It had to be done.

The laundry, that is. Seeing as Ellie was the newest recruit the Grimmes Gang, she was stuck with the rest of the 'fragile bodied woman'scrubbing out their laundry in the pond next to the old farm did not approve of this sudden classification of her being weak.  
 _Sure,_ she thought to herself, _I'm not the strongest with my aim, but I'm not a pansy._

She huffed, ringing the soaked shirt out before tossing it onto large rope. Carol, the older woman, reached forward and examined it, her eyebrows raised. She had been doing that to every single piece of clothing Ellie had cleaned and it was getting on more than her last nerve. She felt the distinct urge to grab her by her shirt and shake her.

She settled for asking if something was wrong. Best not to shake someone on your first few days on the farm.

Carol gave her a motherly smile in return, taking the clothing from the rope and putting it back in the dirty pile. "Have you ever washed clothing before?"

"Uh, with a washer? I mean, the whole Zombie Apocalypse shot that horse in the mouth."

Carol smiled at Ellie, as if she was the mother lecturing the teenager for foolish behavior, never mind that Carol was probably only 15 or 16 years older than Elias. The greying hair had easily been explained when Lori leaned over, whispering in a gossip fashion that Carol's husband had been abusive to both Carol and the missing girl.

While she felt for both Carol and the girl, Elias also felt as if she were reading a gossip magazine in the grocery store checkout line. Lori had only known her a few days and had already spilled the juicy secrets on everyone.

Making a mental note, Ellie told herself to never trust Lori with any sort of secret ever. That is, if she wanted it to stay a secret.

Carol clucked her teeth, dunking the pile of clothing into the ponds edge."I meant like this."

"Oh. Uhm no. When our clothes were to covered in filth, we dumped them and grabbed new ones."

"Well,I can tell. The things you've done are filthy."

Ellie suppressed a glare, but the older woman continued on with her daily chores, completely happy with the simplicity of it. It was easy, mind numbing work, and all Carol struggled to do since the day they had arrived at the farm was keep her head above the water. The thoughts of Sophia haunted her. She was lost. Starving. Dead.

"Why don't you go up to the house and see if Rick has anything to do for you? Or maybe Patrica."  
Lori chose that moment to jump in,her hands wet and covered in soap suds. "Its okay, , we have it covered. We'll have this done in twenty minutes flat."

With a shrug and minor offense, Ellie consented, ambling back towards the house, a small frown on her face. She hadn't meant to be sent away,despite all her inner griping and moaning, she had been trying her best. But maybe she would be thrown into the action. Well, whatever action was happening. Anything was better than scrubbing someone elses dirty panties. End of the world panties at that.

xXxXx

When she finally found Rick, he was on the porch, surveying the the land with the face of a a man who belonged there. Years of being a cop had given him that look. The look of a man who could protect you with just a lamp and rusty bottle opener. It had also given him the the amazing ability to persuade you that he, no matter what the situation, was calm and collected, knowing exactly what to do.

It was a gift he had received from his father and his wife had pointed it out to him countless times. But he knew he was nothing like his father. Or atleast he hoped.

He looked up slowly as he noticed the new member approaching him,sauntering as if she had no problems in the world to deal with. He sighed, wondering if the group of danger attractors had taken up yet another attractor. It was too soon to tell, but birds of a feather did tend to flock together.

"Hey copper." Elias an easy smile on her face and her hands in her pockets. She was small, and the cop briefly wandered how someone her seize had managed to survive so long. "Whats crackin?"

"I was looking for Glenn but got distracted by this view." Rick answered easily, motioning towards the farm. It was beautiful. There was no denying that. The fields were still sprouting wildflowers amid the green, and the trees were still in full green, but would slowly start turning shades of yellows, oranges, and reds. Fall was slowly creeping up on them, and Rick feared for the safety of the group once winter full hit. It meant cold weather and snow. And that meant starvation and frostbite and maybe even death. It would be their first winter since this fuckin hell started.

With a content murmur from Ellie, she agreed.

And they stood in silence, their thoughts drifting as they gazed out into farm fields, the barn sitting near the edge and small smudged figures of the group making their way from one place to the next.

He didn't want to be the one to tell them they had to leave, and that this wasn't anything but temporary. Rick didn't want to always make the shots and later have them analyzed and shoved into his face.

But now Ellie was staring at him, her head cocked as if she had said something to him, but he had been to lost to even know what she had said. She raised her eyebrows. "Why do you need Glenn?

"Oh,just sending him to town on a routine run with Hershel's oldest,Maggie. We need some more supplies. Might as well stock up while we have the chance, right?" Rick smiled at the blonde, before turning to take a step around her, his hand on his walkie, but she took another step, blocking him.  
"Why don't you just send me instead?"

Rick blinked, confused at her sudden bluntness."What?"

"Why don't you send me instead of Glenn?" She smiled a large smile,her eyes big. It was actually quite frightening.

"Well,Ellie, ya see Glenn's our fastest and most experie-" Rick sputtered. He didn't know what to say. What could he? He didn't trust her yet, but he had never had someone so eager to do something like this before.  
"I went to Standford on a track scholarship. I'm fast. Incredibly. How do you think I've made it so long?"

"Well-"  
"Please.I am not cut out for this womanly chore thing." She was begging now. He felt that at any moment the blonde was going to get on her knees. And he couldn't deal with that. "I want to prove myself."

He sighed, nodding his head and unclasping the walkie from his belt."Fine. But Maggie's going to report back to us every half to make sure everything's going well. You can take this one out to Daryl." Ellie squealed, throwing her arms around the older man, her heart pounding in excitement. "Are you sure?" He inquired again. "This is serious."

She nodded her head ecclesiastically. "Of course!" She was already turning towards the steps and making her way down them.

"I'll tell Maggie!" Rick called after her, and she raised her hand to show she heard.

 _Well,_ Rick thought to himself as he walked to the front door, _its nice to have a little enthusiasm for once._

xXxXxXx

She walked toward the RV, a skip in her step and a swing in her arms, her excitement was unreal. She wouldn't let him rethink her going out into the town. It was to late. She couldn't even figure out why she was so excited to go. She had lived it the past couple months, but now she seemed unable to just slink into normal, everyday life.

She gripped the rungs on the ladder, pulling herself up with ease, but awkwardly clambering onto the top, the man in the lawn chair turning his head to peek at her from the corner of his grey blue eyes. She gave him a small smile.

"What the fuck ya want?" He grumbled. He was working on carving something, his hands moving the knife over the wood with extreme precision, like he had done it a thousand times before. Ellie figured he was making arrows for his crossbow.

She raised an eyebrow, the walkie still in her hand. She felt the sudden urge to yank his chain. "Well, I'm being sent on a perilous journey forth from the unyielding grasp of the camp dwellers to fetcha colossal-"

"God,ya don't need to talk to me like I'm some dumbass. All ya college graduates all the same and shit." He snarled, his hooded eyes narrowing at her. Did she look like a college graduate? Or did Gerty spill the beans?

"In ever graduated. I dropped out. I went to Standford on a scholarship.I only lasted 3 years." Ellie shrugged her thin shoulders. If this had been a normal day, where people weren't eating other people,she wouldn't had said anything. It wasn't something she was ashamed of, but it was something she hated being judged on.  
She would always be asked why, and she would always give the same bland response back about wasting someone elses spot who wanted to be the remorse than she did. The real answer, one she knew no one would ever understand, was that she had always felt that her time on Earth was limited. Not as in the normal, spend 90 years and then your done, but as in i'm-not-going-to-make-it-past-23. So she went home. Got a job as a waitress, and spent her remaining time with Gerty and her parents. Her father was never able to understand, how she could just throw her life away.

The world ended two years later, so it didn't really matter.

"That's probably the most fuckin' stupidest thang I ever heard." Daryl muttered, shaking his head at the blonde. "Ya fuckin' idiot."

With narrowed eyes she shoved the walkie-talkie into his hand. "Here,Rick said to give this to you. And at least I made it to college. Did you even graduate?" She hissed, turning to climb down the ladder.

With a huff he returned her glare. "Piss off!"

"How about you go fuck yourself." She shot back, jumping off the second step of the ladder and storming off, not hearing anything else that he grumbled after her.  
"UGH!" She snarled to herself. "What a complete jackass."

He was not going to be easy to get along with.

xXxxXxXx

Maggie wasn't happy about Ellie coming with her instead of the sprightly Asian, and Ellie could tell this just from the looks of annoyance Maggie was sending in her direction as they got out of the car.

 _Don't look at her or you'll turn to stone from that glare she's sending you,_ _Ellie_ thought to herself bitterly as she unzipped her bag, grabbing what was left of the tampon selection. Sure it wasn't on the list, but there was no way she was going to rough it once her monthly problem started. Maggie, in the corner, stood shoving pills into her bag, her brown eyes flashing over the labels quickly.  
Ellie walked around small pharmacy quickly, stepping over the discarded packages and bottles towards the front counter. Not that there was anything everything useful had been picked off a long time ago, this was evident from the large amounts of dust that covered nearly everything. But she wasn't looking for anything that someone would want to take.

She hopped up onto the counter, sliding her way over the top and to the ground on the other side. Her eyes swept over the ground, seeing nothing but receipts and coins. And then she saw it. Tiny and rectangular with the black words printed neatly on the front bent down, leaning under the counter to scoop it up.

"What are you doing?" Ellie jumped, her head whacking against the underside of the counter. She pulled herself back, rubbing her head from the pain.  
"Owww." She moaned, the card in the hand not clutching her head. "Uh, well, me and Gert, we have this thing we do. To remember everywhere we've been." She stood up,pushing her self onto her knees, unzipping her bag and sliding the business card into the front pouch. When she got back to her tent she would add it to her own backpack, rubber banded to all the other assortment of business cards. "We always take one of the little business cards from the store we take from. They always have them on the counter, and if not, we make our own and write down the address."The blonde stood up from the grime covered ground, examining the brunette.

Maggie nodded, smiling softly at the other girl. It was the first real look she had given Ellie with any sort of emotion. "My family likes to think that if they were here, they would want to help."  
Ellie smiled back and nodded. She knew that wasn't true better than anyone else. If they were alive right now, they would probably kill , still, it was a nice thought to have.

Maggie turned around, done talking, reaching out for another bottle.

And that's when she started screaming.

Maggie had been grabbed. A walker had shoved his hand through the wood of the shelf and was tearing his way though more every second Ellie stand stared from the top of the counter. It was almost surreal.

"HELP!"Maggie screeched, her face red with fresh tears of terror streaming down it.

That's when she snapped back to reality. Ellie scrambled off the counter,falling onto her face before she pushed herself back up, her hand still scrambling for her gun. She struggled with the holster, the buttons had always been finicky, and always during the time of trouble. She always knew it was more trouble that it was worth.  
Maggie continued to screech as she struggled to keep her arm from becoming a zombie lunch-able. Kicking and struggling with,tugging her arm back from the monster only to have to ripped could they be so strong, when their muscle was falling away?  
Ellie, with a pounding heart, managed to rip the gun from her holster, and with a flick of her finger turning the safety off,she pulled the trigger, the gun pressed against the rotting flesh of the zombie.

Then everything was silent. Maggie,silently sobbing in relief, falling to her knees, and Ellie slowly following her down, blood splattered over both of them. And they sat, gasping for air, resisting the urge to grab onto the other and hold on. Not because of any emotional connection, but because they wanted the human comfort.

"That was a close call." Ellie whispered, placing her gun back in her holster, and then clutching her backpack tightly to herself.

All Maggie did was nod, and they continued sitting in their shocked silence.

But then, a groan filled the room. The girls both stood up quickly,backpack back on Maggie's shoulders, and faces tense. Their eyes,blue and brown, darting wildly around the room, and to their left,the front door stood, propped open with a walker that had crawled its way in. And the others, they were trampling over its decaying body in order to make their way in.

Maggie stiffened, her eyes wide and darting for an escape. But there were to many. That door was the only one leading outside, and the other, an archway, just lead to a set of stairs. And if horror movie edict taught them anything, it was that running up stairs would probably be what killed them.

"Where did they all come from? They weren't outside a minute ago!"Ellie gasped, stepping backwards, getting as far away from the walkers as she possibly could. "Maggie, you've been here a thousand times, how do we get out of here?!" When Maggie didn't respond, she reached and tugged at her hand. That snapped the brunette back to attention, her breathing coming out faster. She was terrified. But so was Ellie.

" ! Follow me! I think there's a fire escape upstairs!" And then Maggie tugged her hand, yanking her through the archway, and disregarding every single horror movie they had ever watched. They stomped up the stairs quickly, their chests heaving at the stamina it took.

It was a tiny office with a desk pushed against the wall, and a giant pile of blankets laying in the corner like a nest and in it...Ellie looked away, surveying the room quickly. She didn't want that crumpled rotting body to be the last thing she ever saw. She could hear them stumbling their way up the stairs, moaning out to them.

Maggie gasped, pointing out when she saw the window. "The fire escape is that one!"

Ellie ran forward, shoving it open and peering out. "Maggie." Her voice was void of emotions, almost a whisper.  
"Hurry!"Maggie insisted, shoving gently at the girl in front of her.

"I cant!" Ellie hissed."This is a balcony, not a fire escape."

But the monsters were already up the stairs coming through the door."Just hurry!" Maggie hissed. They had no choice, crawling through the window quickly, to escape the 6 walkers cornering them in that office. Ellie reached back to help Maggie out of the window,before quickly slamming it shut behind her. It was to small, they were basically pressed against each other, gasping for breath as the monsters started to slam their bloody palms against the glass.

"We're going to have to jump." Ellie said lowly, pointing to the building next door. "Its only a story down..." She may have only been a story to the next building , but if they miss shot, they would both end up crashing through the sky lights on top of the roof, or two stories down in the alley with broken legs and a easy meal for the walkers. They were swarming around in the alley now. Nine of them mulling, their heads pointing up and their vacant eyes trained on the two girls peering down at them.

"But what about the hoard on the ground? What if we miss and fall into the alley. There are like, twenty of them." They had both climbed atop the railing, clutching onto each other for support.

"Well...don't miss."  
And then they leaped, hitting the roof, but also crashing through the glass.


	4. Chapter 4

LeapOf Faith

She came to to the sound of a dismayed scream, her head dizzy and layingatop a pile of broken glass. How had they gotten here? Oh. had figured taking a jump from one roof to the next would be agood idea, but they both misjudged the distance and instead crashedright through the glass ceiling and straight into the pharmacy. Maggie. She was the screaming. She remembered slowly her mindstaggered. With a ginger push up, she staggered over, looking for theother girl.

Shecouldn't see her, but she definitely heard her. So took off at a limplooking for her. Just around the corner, there she was, sitting onthe black and white tiled floor, her face scrunched in pain.

She skid to a halt infront of the brown haired woman, covering hermouth with her hand. "Shh. You're screaming loud enough to wake the dead." She hissed. "You're going to get us killed."Ellie whispered, crouching down farther and examining her . Straight through. With a grimace, she looked around onto herown shoulder. She grabbed at one of the numerous holes and ripped theflannel sleeve off. So long favorite shirt, you were loved, she mentally grumbled bitterly.

"Okay."Ellie began, putting her hand on the glass. The other woman screamedinto her hand. "I'm going to rip this out. And I want you to hold that scream in, Maggie. If you do you'll call more Walkers overhere. And then," She glanced up uneasily at the shop windows,they were so crowded with the dead that she couldn't even see pastthem, "and then we'll both have a lot more to scream about."

Maggie nodded through clenched teeth, grabbing onto the blondes shirt and squeezing tightly. "Just do it fast. Like a band-aid. But distract me. Say something funny."

Ellie frowned, knowing this wasn't going to feel anything like ripping a band-aid off, and gripped the end of the glass in her hand, flinching slightly as it cut deep into her hand. Maggie squirmed slightly, herface in absolute agony.

"I can't think of anything funny, butonce my mother gave me some nice advice."

"Yeah?"Maggie whimpered.

"Drink some wine, kiss a stranger, swim naked." She tightened her handmore, hissing at the pain of the glass slicing through her palm.

Maggiecast a quick glance with her brown eyes at Ellie. "What kind of advi-"

She didn't get to finish her question, because with a with a hard tug Ellie yanked the glass came out, covered in blood and causing more blood to seep from the wound. Maggie held in a scream, clenching her teeth hard.

"Your dad is NOT going to be happy with the condition I'm returning you look like shit." Minus the horrible wound on her leg, Maggiehad a range of cuts and scraps from the other, smaller pieces ofglass. Ellie tied the sleeve around the cut tightly, helping the brunette stand up.

"You don't look so great your self, Ellie." Maggie feebly said, herarm over Ellie's shoulder, giving her some of the weight. "How can you even see through all that blood?"

With a confused look, Ellie reached up, touching her own forehead to feel a wetsubstance, she pulled her hand down, see that it was dark cherry colored blood. "Shit. Must have smacked it on the way down."She realized the adrenaline was what was keeping her from feeling it. Later, when she was calmed down, she definitely would. "Come get outta here."

Thenthe glass broke. "SHIT." Ellie hissed, half dragging Maggie to the back of the store. The groaning came again, louder as they toppled in through the broken windows, their skin snagging on the glass and revealing their decaying insides. The smell was unbelievable, and the women held gags back.

"Guess we might not be able to swim naked, huh?"

Ellie ignored the other woman, limping over to the next door. She flung it open, sliding both of them in quickly before slamming it behind releasing Maggie, Ellie flipped the lock on the door and then turned around. It was a storage room, with high shelves piled withtipped over boxes and dust.

"That'snot going to hold." Maggie whispered, leaning against theshelves, her chest heaving, sweat dripping down her face. Her cute pink top was ruined, covered in blood and torn from the glass, her leg was soiled in blood.

As soon as the words left Maggie's mouth, they slammed into the door,shaking it on the hinges. With a gasp, Elias tugged at the shelves,and they gave a loud groan as she tugged, sliding barely an inch.

" ." She groaned, giving another hard tug, her blonde hair falling infront of her face, covered in grime and sticking to her ownsweat. With a grimace, Maggie pushed herself away from her own shelf,limping over quickly. What little strength Maggie was able to use wasenough to budge the large metal shelf only a few more inches infrontof the door.

Butboth girls knew it wouldn't last. And as they leaned against the shelf, they prepared their-selves.

But then, there was a buzz.

"How are things goin'?" Drawled a bored, southern accent. The same accent that had been checking up on them not every half hour likeexpected, but once an hour, the same voice that had insulted Ellie ontop of the RV earlier that morning.

Ellie cried out, unclipping the walkie from her waistband and lifting it up to her mouth, clicking the button with shaky fingers. "We need back up! Now!" She had completely forgotten about it.

"What?"His confusion was easily hear-able through the tiny speaker, but she heard a faint noise of him calling over someone. Rick, probably.

"We were in the Pharmacy, and we were swarmed, and long story short, we jumped from a roof and and fell through another and Maggie's hurt and now we're stuck in a storage room with a shelf against the door andwe're going to die and-"

There was silence on the other end, not even a buzz. Ellie wandered if he even understood anything she was saying. The dead slammed against thedoor harder now, ravenous for just a taste of the beating pulse under their skin. Elias didn't want to be somethings supper. "A response would be nice about now." Maggie growled, her hadclutching onto Ellie's pressing the button down.

Theirwas a buzz again. "We're on our way." The rednecksaid.

"Hurry, we can't hold on much longer."

"Itsa 20 minute drive, but we'll make it in 10." He grumbled backthrough the walkie. There was a pause on his end. "And unless yapuke, faint, or die ya best keep holding that door shut Standford."He added, and then the line went dead.

Her shoulders sagged, and she leaned her head back, the cold metalpressing against the top of her head. Her cornflower blue eyes dartedto Maggie's russet brown, and in that moment, they exchanged a longlook.

They would make it. No matter what.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Gerty sat atop the RV, her tiny legs crossed Indian style and her headresting against her open palm. She was bored. But atleast atop this RV with the man who said nothing was better than wandering on the ground, the other adults questioning her with either piercing looksor annoying questions.

So,from the moment Ellie had left, Gerty had taken her place, her dark blue eyes darting from the field to the green border line of theforest. And every so often they would twitch back to the man at herside, his foot tapping slowly, his hand drawn up to his mouth,chewing absentmindedly on his thumb nail, and his own eyes slowly gazing acrossed the forest.

So when she wasn't with Carl or her elder sister, she stuck to him likeglue. She just knew that there was just something in him that didn't care even an ounce about her or Ellie's sudden arrival.

And he thankfully wasn't the older woman who was gaping at her as if shewas Christ risen from the grave.

Carl, the injured boy, had whispered to her as they lay on their stomachs in the tall grass thatmorning that she looked alot like the girl that was missing. His brown eyes slightly glimmering and wet, and his mouth quivering. Itwas the bleach blonde hair and the big, dark blue eyes.

Hesaid that from a distance, she looked like the girl getting out ofthe car, running after Rick and Shane as they hauled her frail sister into the big white house.

It explained why everyone in the small camp made of ragged tents had stopped, as if time had frozen.

"Do you think they'll find that girl?" The question slipped form Gerty's mouth before she could even stop it.

The man in the chair hesitated, his hooded grey eyes turning to the tinychild. This was the first time she had really spoken to him. Sure,she followed him around the campsite, but she wasn't really one that desired talking. While Ellie had hated talking, she still found pleasure in being human interaction.

The two sisters were as different as the sun and the moon. Not in looks really, because Ellie had her giant stock of dirty blonde hair, and lighter blue eyes, while Gerty had her brighter hair and darker eyes,it was all in the personalities. But Gerty, still only 12, knew that Ellie's chipper demeanor was just a mask covering something.

With a deep breath he leaned forward, his hand falling onto his knee. "I'm supposed to be out there lookin' for 'er, but they wanted me to stay,incase anything happen' in town." He grumbled in his deep stiffened. "Uh, not like anything is bound to happen."He added quickly.

Gerty bit her lip and nodded slowly, her eyes falling down to her handsinfront of her. She heard him shift silently in his lawn chair, the uncomfortableness rolling off his shoulders in massive waves. He mumbled something about checking up on the girls, and she heard aclick and a faint buzz off the walkie.

"How are things goin'?" He drawled, his voice sounding as if he hadbetter things to do. And in his eyes, he did. But Gerty was gratefulbhe was checking up on Ellie.

xXxXxXx

It felt like an eternity before Ellie heard the buzz of the walkie cometo life over the loud ,pained, noises of the monsters 's head shot up weakly, her eyes dazed as she stared at thewalkie in her battered hands, as if shocked that it was even making anoise. The blood seeping from her leg was still coming out slowly,sluggishly and even when Ellie changed the bandage with her othersleeve, it was useless to stop the bleeding. She felt like that Darylguy, sleeves ripped off her flannel like they were.

"Which building are you in?" Rick voice drifted from the their grimaced, pressing down on the blood covered buttons.

"Uh,the one next to the...uh pharmacy." Maggie replied weakly, andbefore she let go, Ellie leaned forward adding: 'the one with all thedead things in it.' "It looks like a clothing store."Maggie added last second.

Therewas silence on their end again, and after a few minutes, they buzzed back in. "Are you in a storage room?"

Maggie nodded, then seemed to remember that they couldn't see her, beforepressing the button back down. "Yeah. With a shelf against the door."

"Well,move the shelf aside, and we'll shoot a path through the horde for you two to get through. There are alot though, so you'll have to be fast. Around 20, maybe 25. Tell me when your ready."

Witha grimace, Maggie shoved herself up, and gestured for Ellie to help move the shelf. But she didn't have much strength left, so, with aburst of strength and a gruff groan, Ellie shoved the shelf back intoplace against the wall herself. Her heart pounding, she grabbed bothbags from the spot they had taken on the dirty floor, and tugged themover her shoulders, nodding at Maggie to walkie them in.

"Okay,"Rick said "on three run out."

"Okay."Both girls replied, Maggie wincing as she stood behind Ellie, tryingnot to put her weight on her injured leg. Her gun was ready in herright hand, and she tossed the tiny pocket knife in her pocket toEllie.

They hadn't trusted sending Ellie out there alone with Maggie armed.

Look where it got them.

"One."The walkie buzzed.

Ellie flipped the pocket knife open.

"Two."She unlocked the bolt with shaky fingers, grabbing the door knob intoher clammy free hand slowly.

"Three!"And to the sound of loud gunshots, she flung the door open running into the shop to see the horde facing the three men with guns and acrossbow firing wildly at their skulls. Maggie limped out after her,her chest heaving as she struggled to make her way towards them.

Butshe didn't notice the walker making its way towards her back.

"Maggie!"Ellie cried out, running and shoving the decayed man seconds beforehis rotting hand grabbed onto Maggie's gun hand.

Butshe had shoved it into a shelf, causing it to fall and collapse onboth her and the monster.

Leaving her pinned, with the walkers craning their heads to see what hadhappened. Leaving them noticing her, the fresh victim that would be unable to escape.

Maggiewas at her side in a second, her eyes darting as she tried her bestto lift the heavy metal shelf from the girl, but her failing strength wasn't allowing her to. "FUCK." The brunette hissed. "I can't."

Ellie,head dizzy, looked up at the girl, then over at the horde, theirattention now fully diverted to them. "Run."

"What?"

"Run.I have a better chance of living if you run...and then...circle back for me." Ellie lied.

Maggie gulped, nodding her head slowly. Elias could tell that she didn'tbelieve it, that she knew this girl would be brunch for what eversmart walker stayed behind. "I'm sorry." Maggie whispered,standing back up with great difficulty.

"'s'kay." She mumbled back weakly, the pain in her leg blocking her from any real thoughts.

Then the brunette stood up, taking off in a limping run around the counter, yelling as she did so, out the front door with what looked like the zombies and men following her.

Andthe only thought Ellie could muster was how she wished she had madeher promise to look after Gerty. But then she heard it. The her blonde head to the right, she saw it. The walker she hadknocked to the ground. It's own legs were stuck, but it wasstruggling as it reached out for her, its hand brushing on her shoulder. It was so close.

Witha gasp, Ellie shifted as best she could, but it must have freed some space for the walker to move, because it dragged itself closer, itsface only held back a few inches from biting her bare shoulders. Thenthe thought hit her suddenly like a strain of thunder. The pocketknife!

She had dropped it when the shelf fell for her, and hereyes skimmed the room quickly. Among the shattered glass, way out ofher reach, was the pocket knife.

' my luck.' She thought to herself.

Andjust when she gave up hope, an arrow whizzed straight into its head.

Withlarge blue eyes she looked up to see that jerk of a redneck yank thearrow back out before quickly crouching down to grip the heavy shelf.

"You came back." She whispered softly.

"Shutup and push." He grumbled back, agitated as his eyes darted fromher back to the door. The walkers had followed him back in, stumbling slowly.

Witha weak nod, she pushed her hands against the metal shelf, crying out as the weight left lower body. It was a great relief.

With strong hands he reached down, grabbing her arm and tugging her up,even as she winced. Her right ankle hurt like a bitch more than ithad before. He tugged her arm over his shoulder, resting his handquickly on her waist before his eyes darted to the back door."C'mon." He growled, half dragging her outside.

"You came back." The blonde repeated again.

"She made me promise." He grumbled, his hand gripping her hiptighter, and the other holding the cross bow at the ready. "The girl. She made me promise." They were outside now, entering theforest as fast as her limp would let them. Her body, tiny andexhausted, was pressed against his side, staggering and limping onher aching ankle.

If they hadn't been close to death, he would have enjoyed the feeling ofher pressed against him like that.

She gave him a weary smile, her face exhausted and covered in blood fromthe tiny scrapes and cuts, her blonde hair was stuck to her face and neck from the sweat and said blood. "Gertrude?"

"Who else woulda', ya dumb shit?" He snapped back. "Anyway, they left, Rick took Maggie, and Shane is leading them away. Shitty job he fuckin' did." The red-neck growled as he helped her over a fallen trunk, his head looking over his shoulder to see the mass ofwalkers following them out. There was only about 6 or 7, but that was still to much for him to take on his own, while helping the girlwhose head was bleeding at a faster rate, and who seemed as if she couldn't even control her own feet.

All Ellie did was give a slow, small smile, looking up at him softly."Thank you." She mumbled. For some reason, that one looksent Ol' Dixons heart a'poundin in that chest of his, and his eyesdarting away, not noticing her cornflower blue eyes fluttering shut.


	5. Chapter 5

Wandering

The last remainder of daylight trickled through the tree branches as Ellie sat on a boulder, her right ankle propped up on a log Daryl had dragged over and the redneck sewing up the gash on her head with the supplies from the first-aid kit that had been buried at the bottom of Maggie's bag. The older stitches had just been taken out a few days ago, a giant scab in their place, and now she had a brand new .

"Done,Standford." He muttered, pulling the last of the string throughher wound. With a wince from her and a bite to the inside of her cheek, she stiffened as he leaned forward using his teeth to bite through the rest of the sting and pull the needle away from her scalp. She never had much of a tolerance for pain, making her a giant wimp. Even stubbing her toe brought her to the ground in tears, andshe was incredibly grateful that it was over with.

And now that all of her adrenaline had worn out, she felt like crying.

"Hershel have'ta look at it when we make it back to the camp tomorra. Tha' ankle too." The gruff man said. placing the needle and remainingthread back into the kit, before wiping his hands onto his jeans.

At that moment, her ears perked up, her eyes snapping open and flicking over to him, completely forgetting about the new throbbing of herscalp added to her list of pain. "What do you mean 'tomarra''?"Ellie ordered, scowling as she mimicked his voice rather badly. He raised an irritated eyebrow at her, bending over to stuff the clothinto the pack that had been Maggie's, before picking it up and swinging it over his shoulder. He did the same with his cross bow,and then tossed the one that had been hers at her. It was considerably lighter, seeing as she had watched him transfer half ofthe items in it to his own moments before.

She was only slightly grateful, because she still felt sluggish, and slightly offended, because she wasn't a weakling. She could handle aheavy bag, she'd been doing it for months while on the road with Gerty. She didn't like when people assumed she was weak. But then again, who did?

With annoyed, grey eyes, he huffed at her, reaching a hand out and tuggingat her arm gently, helping her stand up before draping her arm overhis shoulder. It was awkward, seeing as she was so much shorter than him. He had to be a good foot taller than her, and seeing as she wasonly 5'4", it said alot about how large this hillbilly was.

"I mean," He continued, speaking slowly, as if she was stupid,"that its gonna be dark soon, and yer too beat up ta be tramping through the forest at dark, so we're gonna have'ta suck it up and camp out somewhere. I saw a sign for a cabin a few miles tha' way when I was draggin your uselessbody into the woods," He started walking slowly then, his strong strut still evident.

She repressed a growl or a snappy comment. It was best not to piss off the guy who was saving your ass, right?

A half hour of tripping on not only her own feet, but also his was tiring on both of them. But valiant Daryl Dixon only cursed at her afew times, before giving up on the idea that she would stop tramplingover his feet and just continued on their way. They found the tiny cabin right as the last few rays of sunlight filtered through the tree branches.

It wasn't a cabin at all, from the first glance, Ellie knew it was just a hunting shack. Her father had rented one of these tiny little adobes once a year during deer season. He would sleep a few hours in his sleeping bag, Ellie nestled up in her pink Barbie one next to him, and then wake up extra early to make a breakfast over the portable grill that they plugged into the walls.

Itwas a nice memory for her, and she didn't want to ruin it by going in there to see what was waiting for them.

But with an annoyed noise, Dixon pushed her arm off his shoulder and lefther leaning against a tree, pulling an arrow out and notching itbefore walking slowly towards the door, his grey eyes darting against the small gravel road leading to the shack, and the trees around them. Nothing was outside, so with one steady hand, he grabbed theknob and pushed open slowly, peaking his head in for a second before leaning out and motioning for Ellie to make her way over to him,before strutting inside.

Ellie,with ginger, limping steps, followed quickly, uncomfortable being so vulnerable in that quickly advancing darkness. Her ankle, swollenbeyond belief, woundn't be much help in a fight if a random walkerdecided to make her dinner. Not that she would see it coming anyway.

Speaking of dinner, her stomach growled painfully loud as she staggered into the shack, her hand lingering in the door way.

It was tinier on the inside because it was only one room, and completely empty, minus the small layer of dust coating the wooden floor.

"Just like the one my father used to rent." Ellie mused, walking tothe middle of the room and placing her bag onto the middle of thefloor, crouching down and slowly lowering herself next to it,choosing to ignore the throbbing in her foot. Dixon skirted around her, walking to the door and shutting it quickly, locking the boltand walking to the one window, peering outside into the sudden darkness. The lack of light made the room feel a thousand times darker, causing Ellie to pull her legs to her chest, resting her headatop of her knees.

Her eyes stayed on him, his bare shoulders strong and muscular, tense ashe looked through the small window. He was filthy, covered in blood that she assumed was her own. He gave no sign that he had even heardher speak as he slid his own bag off onto the floor and walking overto sit a few feet away from the blonde girl. He placed his cross bowat his side gently, before laying down.

"Gota sleep, Standford. Gotta walk in the mornin'."

Withouta protest about how early it still was, she slid down onto her backas well, placing her hands on her stomach and fiddling with thefraying hem of her ruined flannel. She had always been a nightperson, working night shifts as a waitress at the bar had literally been a perfect job for her. There were plenty of people around,mostly old men with plenty of stories. But even in her teen years she had spent all her time on her computer, blogging and reading into the early hours of the morning. It was amazing that she was still able to wake up early and run.

She fidgeted more, taking her boots off, one regularly, and the second gingerly before laying back down. It was weird not having Gerty laying right next to her, curled up at her side like a kitten. She hoped Gertrude wasn't staying up late, wandering about the well beingof her sister, but they, well Daryl, had decided it would be betterto just walk back rather than go back to the overrun town.

"What do you miss most about...life before this?" Ellie asked, no longer able to stand the silence, laying on her back with her hairsplayed out beneath her. The floor wasn't her first choice, but itwas better than sleeping outside, completely unguarded. Plus, nature was gross, in her opinion.

He grunted next to her, realizing at that moment how alike the two sisters were, his back facing to her, his shoulders slack and relaxed. He was exhausted. While Standford looked like she weighedless than a box of feathers, that girl was probably heavier than a Ford truck. And running with her was a thousand more times muscles ached more than they ever had. But for some reason, thesoft hum of her soft voice was soothing to him. Calming, almost.

"Like,"Ellie began, lifting her hand into the air above her and examining it closely, "Temple Run. That cheesy game for ipods. Gerty stillhas it on hers, but she only plays it every now and then, to save thebattery. She only charges it when we're in a car. Refuses to let me even touch the thing and beat her score."

She felt as if shewere babbling, but she didn't want to stop talking. It was dark, andthey were vulnerable, and so her mouth automatically flung itself open in a terrific display of word vomit. "And I miss my cat, Motormouth. And TV shows. I miss watching Jensen Ackles stare longingly at the TV screen. I miss-"

"Goddammit, if I say something will you shut tha fuck up?" Daryl had turned, laying on his back now and glaring at her with his piercing grey eyes. He gave a heavy sigh, slightly guilty for snapping at her,and looking away, up to the ceiling like she was. he heard the thudof her hand falling to the ground next to her, and her body shifty."Pie. Apple pie."

She looked over at him, a soft smile on her lips, and she hummed her reply. "Good night."

He grunted back, turning back on his side, facing away from her, his hand reaching out ot grip his bow gently, ready to spring into action at any second. "Your dad a hunter?"

Ellie jerked, not expecting him to talk to her again, and she nodded quickly, then realized that he couldn't see her. "Yeah. Deer,mostly. Used to just take me, before Gert was born. Mostly just useda bow. It was beautiful and super expensive. Wouldn't let me get anywhere near it. You hunt?"

He scoffed. "Huntin' ran in my family. Not the only thing that did though."

Ellie waited, wondering if he would say anything more, and when he didn't she sighed, turning to face his back, her eyes again falling onto hisbare shoulders. She wish she knew why she had a sudden fascination for them. She had never really been a shoulder type girl. More of a hip bone one.

"Daryl?"She whispered aloud again, turning to face him.

He didn't answer, and after a while, his breathing became slow and gentle, and hers followed in pursuit.

xXxXx

She woke up, not snuggled in his arms like a cliche romance novel, but reaching out over the space between them and touching his back. It was what she did with Gerty. Checking to make sure that he was still there. That he hadn't left in the middle of the night. And across thecold, empty space between them, she felt his body shift, his breathing turning back to normal as he pulled himself out of the deep chasms of sleep.

But god, did he snore louder than anything Ellie had ever heard. But itonly woke her once, before she calmly feel back to sleep, shifting only a little bit closer to him, shivering slightly in the night. It was calming and reassuring, hearing it faintly as she drifted back tosleep. Yet another reminder that she wasn't alone.

It took a few moments before he realized their was a tiny hand touching him, as he slowly drifted out of sleep, and he flinched away, pushing himself away from the girl and pulling himself up, not even lookingat her as he walked to the door, bow in hand, throwing it open and proceeding down the steps and away a little, unzipping his pants to take a whizz.

She heard, waking up quickly and sitting up, her eyes darting around the room, her stomach giving another pained growl. But that wasn't the only thing that wasn't happy. Her back and neck hurt from laying on the hard ground with nothing to even attempt to soften the ground under her, and her head felt dizzy from sitting up so suddenly.

She started to examine her ankle. It wasn't swollen anymore, just bruised to the point that there was no tan skin see able. With a sigh, she tugged up her shirt, seeing that two large straight bruises were also starting to form there, where the shelving had fallen on her. It wouldn't be a surprise if they were on her legs too, but she wasn't going to risk being caught with her pants down by this guy. Even if he did save her life, he didn't deserve a peep show.

Though,if he played his cards right, she wouldn't really mind giving him one.

She stiffened at that thought, shoving her shirt back down and reaching forward to dig into her bag, pulling out two granola bars and ripping them open quickly, trying her best to wipe any of those thoughts from her head. It had been a long time since...well since she'd done that.

And she really wasn't going to do it with that jerk.

Holding onto the bar with her teeth, she reached down to tug her boots ontoher tired, sore feet, and her throbbing ankle. Daryl came back inside, bow still on shoulder, walking over to grab the bar next toher and ripping it open, basically shoving the whole thing into his mouth before he tossed the wrapper to the ground and shrugged the last backpack over his shoulder.

"Lets go." He grumbled down at her, heading back towards the door, her shoving herself up tiredly and following him slowly, still wincing at the weight she put on her ankle.

"How long?"

"Few hours.' He grunted out, and at that moment, Ellie knew that she wasgoing to die. Not physically, unless attacked by a horde of walkers,but mentally. Dealing this guy, Mr. Talkative, for a few hours was going to be the death of her.

Her mouth was twitching already, words begging to slip out. Word vomit was just around the corner, she could feel it on her tongue, and in moments she was going to regurgitate every single thought she had ever had.

The struggle was clear on her face as she bit her lip, her brow crunching up, reaching up to fiddle with her hair, trying to distract herself.

"What did you do before all this?" The words slipped out of her mouth so quickly and so loudly, she wouldn't have been surprised if he didn't understand any word she said, but as they made their way around a fallen tree, he paused, looking over his shoulder and at her face.

"Not much." He grunted back, cross bow pulled over his shoulder, greyeyes, the color of a dark stone, flicking from her eyes, and down her, as if he was still accessing her damage. She knew she was covered in dry flaking blood, some her own and some not, and day old sweat seeping into her pores, giving her the'I-probably-haven't-bathed-in-a-week' look. While it was frowned uponin the 'before times' it was pretty normal these days.

Her mouth twitched again. "God, what I would give to brush my teeth right now. To bad I left all that stuff in my tent."

"Yeah."He huffed back, not even bothering to look back at her this time.

She frowned, pulling at a stray strand of hair. She wasn't enjoying his short responses. At all.

"I hope Gerts not too freaked out."

He didn't even bother to respond.

"Hello? Do I need to set up an appointment with your secretary to have an actual conversation with you?" She snapped, eyes glaring into theback of his head.

He only grunted in response. And no matter what else she said, he did not give her any response besides one worded sentences, or the occasional grunts. She gave up eventually, enjoyingthe smell of the clean forest air, and the sight of the leaves thatwould soon start turning hues of oranges and reds. The forest in thefall was a beautiful sight, and she felt slightly thankful that shehad lived to see another one, but what about the winter? It was boundto be a cold, vicious one, and Ellie still hadn't decided if she asgoing to end up staying with this group or not for the winter. Who knew what would happen?

Until around 10. She was lagging behind, her ankle bothering her immensely,when he decided to stop, watching as she struggled to sit on highway asphalt, only a mile or two from the farm. His gaze, unreadable,never left her even as he reached into the pouch on the side of the bag and pulled out a water battle, taking a quick swig before handing it to her.

"Thanks.."Ellie smiled back, wanting to chug the rest, but knowing that probably wasn't the best idea. Two miles was still a long way away,and who knew what was going to happen. She handed it back to him,licking her dry, cracking lips, but then a smile crossed her mouth."We match." She giggled.

He raised an eyebrow at her, crouching down on his feet and stuffing the bottle back into the bag before examining her again, a smirk gracinghis lips only for a fraction of a second before slipping back to that slightly annoyed expression he seemed to have every time he looked inher direction. They both were wearing flannels, the sleeves ripped away, though Ellie's was due to her binding Maggie's wounds, and Daryl's, from what she could only assumed, was because he liked to give those guns some air.

"I look better in it though." She giggled again, grinning widely at the older man.

He snorted. "Hows your ankle?" Daryl inquired, quickly changing the subject and grabbing at her right leg and sliding the boot off her foot, freezing as she winced from his roughness."Sorry." She threw him off, mentally. Something about her nonstop chattering, and the way she smiled was getting to him, and he was not happy about it.

"S'kay." The blonde whispered back, her eyes flicking up to his as he peeled the sock from herfoot, examining the bruises closely, his hand gentle as he moved it on the joint. "Look bad, doc?"

Hisgrey eyes looked up at hers slowly, lingering. "Well, I aint no doc. My brother Merle, he was a idiot. Doin' stupid shit and hurting his self all the time when we were kids." And then his warm,gentle fingers were gone, allowing her to quickly put on her footwear, holding out a hand to help her out when she was done. Themoment she was standing, he released, throwing that ratty backpackback over his shoulder, turning to walk away.

"You have a brother?" Ellie inquired, doing her best to catch up withthe mans quick pace, her hair, falling out of its bun and acrossed her curious blue yes, her pink lips pulled into a frown. There was no Merle at camp. She knew the answer, she didn't know why she even bothered asking.

"Had."

The blonde didn't have to ask how. She knew, just from the tone of hisvoice, and reaching out she placed her hand onto his arm. "I'm so sorry."

His reaction wasn't what she expected. He flinched, yanking away so fasthe jostled her, causing her to stumble backwards, his eyes, pissed and his mouth pulled into an angry grimace.

"Stop fuckin' touchin me." Dixon growled, eyes flashing. "Youbdon't fuckin' know nothin. God dammit! I can't wait to be fuckin back at the farm so that I can be fuckin' done with you. Always talkin'and shit. Fucking Fuck."

Growling,like a feral animal, he stomped forward.

Ellie hesitated, slowly pushing herself up and limping after him, trying tobite her tongue.

Obviously that didn't last long.

"You know, maybe I'm over sensitive, but you're still a dick and that'snot okay."

Infront of her, the hunter stopped, his head turned in her direction, but notreally saying anything as she struggled to keep up. Once she reached him, he grabbed her shoulder and slung it over his, helping herbalance.

Ellie thought she caught a glimpse of guilt on his face, but was unsure.

And then they started walking, like nothing had happened. As the timepassed, the silence and stiffness around them made it feel like aneternity.

Eventually, when the farm came into view, he actually talked to her again.

"I was a mechanic." He mumbled to the blonde.

"What?"

"You asked what I was. I was a mechanic."

All Ellie could do was give him soft smile. "Thank you for telling me."

He scoffed at her, as if she were just a child. "Its not a big fuckin'deal. Just tellin' you my job. Not like it matters anymore."


	6. Chapter 6

Searching

When they had arrived at the farm, it had been a flurry of excitement,Rick running to grab take her weight from Daryl, to relieve him of his duties.

But surprisingly, Daryl didn't leave her side, he only continued covering nearby, even so much that he leaned against the corner of the bedroom that Hershel was using to examine Ellie's ankle. He chalked it up as just fulfilling his promise to the little girl, but truthfully, it was something about this girl that made him want to be in her presence.

She was chatty and chipper, always talking and a small smile always on her face.

Even as Hershel was examining her wounds, she managed to look over the old mans shoulder and give him a smile. Maybe it was meant for Gertrude,she had been standing next to him at that moment, it was right before she ran off back outside with the others. But he couldn't be sure.

It sent chills down his spine.

He needed to focus. So he forced himself out of the room, giving her a brief nod as he exited, and went to search for Sophia.

But the feeling of her big blue eyes on his back as he walked out didn't leave. It lingered like a soft breeze around him as headed toward the tree lining.

XxxXx

"I'm fine, really. My ankle is actually feeling a lot better with the brace." Ellie said, smiling as she struggled to stand up. The throbbing sensation returned almost instantly. But she wasn't going to show that it hurt. If she did, she'd be put on bed rest for god knows how long, and she was NOT going to be stuck in this bedroom all day.

Hershel gave her a skeptical look. "Are you sure? Do you remember what I said about taking care of yourself?"

Ellie's mouth was in a thin, tight line. She obviously forgot. She had risked her own life yet again out of bordem. She had almost died leaving Gertrude without anyone else in the world.

From now on, she affirmed to herself, Gertrude comes first.

"Now,about Maggie." The withered old veterinarian began again.

"HersheI am so so-"

"Thank you," he said, cutting her off, "If you hadn't thought quick on your feet, she would have died." His periwinkle eyes shown at her, a soft glean on water pulling up at his waterlines. "We are in debt to you."

Ellie didn't know what to say, so she just reached out, placing her hand on his shoulder for a quick second, before clearing her throat and withdrawing it. "Where is Maggie? I should go see how shes doing?"

Hershel stood up, clearing his throat and walking to the door. "She's upstairs, the first door on your left. She'll be glad to see 's been asking about you since the moment she returned."

And with that, they parted ways, Ellie much more slowly than Hershel.

It didn't take long for her to make her way up the the brunettes room,but it also wasn't the most pleasant trip up a flight of stairs she'd ever taken either.

When she had finally reached to room, she leaned in the open doorway,Maggie was laying on her bed, giving harsh whispers to Glenn.

Ellie couldn't make out much, just that it was about the barn.

She gave a soft cough to catch their attention, and the two whipped their heads in her direction faster than the speed of light.

"Ellie!Thank god you're okay!" Maggie said, giving her a small had made it out pretty unscathed. Her face had few cuts from the shards of glass, but it all looked superficial. The only real problem their seemed to be, was her leg. It was bound up in gauze where the glass and stabbed into.

Ellie's hand throbbed in its own bandage at the sight of the girls wound, remembering how she had tugged it out.

"Nothing can kill me, Miss Greene." Ellie laughed, walking over and sitting on the edge of Maggie's Bed.

The bed room they were in was clean and orderly, a book shelf against the wall, with sweet white lace curtains and decorative pillows sitting on the single chair pressed up next to the white dresser. The only clutter was a small pile of discarded college text books and notebooks atop the dresser. They were useless now, in this new world.

"How are you feeling?" The Asian asked, leaning back in his own chair,one he must have brought up from the kitchen table. Its dark colors clashed against all the light pastels and white in the room.

She shrugged. She felt like shit. Her head was pounding, her legs hurt,her hand hurt. Every muscle in her body was aching. "Atleast We're not dead."

The brunette nodded in confirmation. "Yes. Atleast we're not dead."

Ellie stayed with the two a while longer, chatting and laughing as if the events of the day before were months ago, until herself and the Asian were booted by Patricia, who came in to clean Maggie's wound and switch out her bandages.

Ellie and Glenn separated ways once outside, waving each other goodbye as he headed towards the RV to join Dale, and she headed towards the hunters tent.

But he wasn't there. All there was were clothes laying neatly atop an open duffle bag, discarded weapons and a half full bottle of Jack Daniels.

She wasn't really sure why she was here, other than the fact she wanted to thank him, but even then, she was sure of the knowledge that she could always do it latter. But still, she resolved to wait. So,walking into the tent, she laid down on his cot, stretching out to wait. And slowly, she drifted into sleep.

WDWDWDWDWDWD

It had been ended being a great day for Daryl. He had found found solid evidence that Sophia had been near by, he didn't want leave, that was how sure he was.

There had been recently opened food, and a small bundle of blankets at the bottom of the pantry, Sophia sized.

But it was getting dark, and he couldn't wait any longer or he would risk getting lost his self in the unforgiving woods. So, he headed back to the camp, resolving to go back and search some more tomorrow.

The first thing he did was inform Rick, and Rick nodded, promising a group to send out with him tomorrow.

He didn't bother telling Carol. She was calm for once, Gertrude and Carl sitting infront of her as she read to them. Daryl knew it was just a tactic to busy herself.

Tiredly,he made his way through the throng of tents and to his own.

He didn't expect to find the blonde laying curled up among his items,fast asleep, her shirt lifted to reveal the large bruises that had formed from yesterdays events.

A pang of guilt ran through him.

The look of her bruised was familiar, but he pushed away the memories,instead dropping his items on the ground, kicking off his boots, and laying down next to here.

"Only for a few more minutes," He growled to himself, "then i'm kicking your ass out, Standford."

But the days events had worn on him as well, because within moments, he too, was fast asleep.

And within an hour, she would shift, burying herself into the crook of his arm.

And by midnight, his own arm snaked around, pulling her closer, and slowly resting on her lower back where her shirt rode up. Warm skin touching warm skin.

Gertrude had wandered upon them, searching for her sister, but held in an eye roll and a snort seeing the two tangled up with each other.

"Could they be more cliche?" She snorted, walking back to her tent.


	7. Chapter 7

**_Im so sorry in advance for any grammer errors or weird non spaces. For some reason, the program I use messes with some of the sentences, and I try to catch all, but might accidentally miss a few._**

By Morning Light

She felt serene. As if the entire world ending had led up to this very moment. The soft glow of the early morning light seeped onto the top of the tent, the warmth leaking in and soaking her in its soft late summer heat. The comfort of herself pressed against another body was astounding, wrapped in apair of strong arms. She wiggled in closer, her leg hooking up and pressing him to her, her lips pressing against the soft,warm skin of his throat.

And out of reflex, she felt his body react to her, his hands pressed on her back pushing her shirt up gently, holding her closer to him. He too was slowly starting to wake.

She came to her senses the same moment he did.

"What the hell!" He growled, pushing her away, a little harder than he meant to, feeling a twinge of regret as she let out a hiss, bracing her hand against the ground to steady herself, and realizing that was the wounded hand.

"Jesus, asshole!" She growled, pulling her self up, without realizing her shirt had shifted up in her sleep, the right side rolled up and caught on the top of her dark purple bra.

Daryl averted his eyes, shoving himself up and shoving his feet into his shoes, not bothering to re-tie them as he stormed out, making his way to the fields to take a piss. "Get the hell out!" He yelled over his shoulder.

Who did she think she was? Sleeping in his fucking tent, rubbing against him like that.

When he finished pissing he stormed back to his tent, expecting the blonde to have left, on her way back to her own tent, but she still sat on the floor, her legs crossed infront of her self, her hand unwrapped to reveal the bright and angry red wound held shut by stitches on her hand. It was irritated with a small glean of puss and blood.

He leaned over, reaching into his bag looking for his jack and some bandages that he kept ready, just in case.

"Whens the last time you've changed that fuckin' thing?" He grumbled,finding what he was looking for and sitting down in front of her, grabbing at her hand as gently as he could.

"Well,I didn't mean to fall asleep. You should have woke me." Ellie snapped back, wincing as he dumped a cap full of Jack onto her hand. She snatched the bottle from next to him and took a giant swig. "Fuck that hurt!"

The hunter snorted at her, fumbling with the bandages as he tried to wrap up her wounds. It had been a long time since he had to do this for himself. The last person had been his brother, Merle. But Merle had been tripping on some sort of drug, so he hadn't been awake to really complain.

"Well, take care of it." He snipped, twisting thecap back onto his drink before turning around to snatch his cigs and lighter off his worn duffle bag.

Giving him a distasteful look, Ellie pulled her own boots back on. "Those things will kill you, ya know."

Daryl laughed, out right laughed, and it was the first time Ellie had heard it. It was rough and harsh, but made her want to make him laugh more.

"Didn't you know? We're dead already."

With that, Ellie made her way out of the tent, off towards her own. The early morning light was slowly eating the dew from the night before off the bright green grass.

"Hey girly, what are you doing up so early?" She was stopped right outside her tent, turning around to face none-other than Shane.

"Oh,I was just going to the bathroom." Ellie lied, smiling. In all honesty in her opinion there was something off about this man. The way he lurked around. The way he leered at the women. He gave off the air of a man who had once been womanizer, someone who was used togetting their way.

He smiled, placing his had onto the handle of his gun which was tucked safely into its holster. She recognized this as an intimidation tactic, and a string of fear shot through her body. "Long bathroom break. Haven't seen you since after lunch yesterday."

"Well,"Ellie said, "Not that it's any of your business, but I really had to go."

And then, in return, he laughed. "You got me there. Just was worried about you. Can't have anyone just wandering off." He then turned to walk past her, stepping a little closer than necessary. "Don't worry, I'll keep my eye on you. And Gertrude."

"Wow, thanks." Ellie mumbled, thankful when he accepted that response andmade his way towards the farmhouse. She needed to keep her eye on him.

The blonde leaned down, unzipping the tent and seeing her messy haired sister curled up upon her sleeping bag, sleeping peacefully. Doing her best not to wake her, she ruffled through her clothes, pulling out a light blue t-shirt, stating something about a 5K she had never been to, and her last pair of shorts. She wasn't planning on getting into any trouble today, just laying around and reading. She needed to rest her ankle, and wouldn't help anyone if she injured herself further.

Though, by mid afternoon she was ready to do a 5k. Her feet were twitching and she couldn't focus on the cheap novel that she had rammed into the bottom of her backpack. She had thoroughly organized all of her and Gertrude's items by necessity, refolded all the laundry, and lined all the items up along the tents far edge.

She braided, unbraided, and then rebraided her own hair, and tried yet again to read her book.

No such luck.

Shoving on her boots and tying them slowly, bracing her ankle, she made her way out of her tent, surveying the campsite around her.

Daryl had lead a small group to where he had found clues of Sophia, leaving only Glenn, Dale, T-dog, Carol, Lori, and the kids loitering around in the lazy late summer sun, and the Greene family inside in the shade.

Limping her way over to Lori and Carol, who were slowly getting ready to start on dinner. A dinner which consisted of different broths and vegetables, and the meat of a poor little pig who had been laid to rest earlier that morning. For a gallant reason, full stomachs.

Once she finally reached the picnic table, she flopped down as gracefully as possible, greeting the two older women.

God,she most be desperate, hanging out with the PTA mothers.

"So, how's Carl doing?" Ellie inquired, watching Lori poor the broth into a big black pot.

The older woman smiled lightly at her, but her weary eyes not showing any form of happiness. This new world was weighing on her, and from what she caught Dale whispering to Andrea about, she was quickly losing weight.

Carol was small and frail, her eyes always red from weeping.

Ellie declared to herself inwardly that she would never be a weak woman had no place in this new world.

"He's doing good. Almost all better. Hershel says that in a few days, he'll be able to take the stitches out."

The conversation continued on as they made light conversation. The weather, the kids, the pretty sunrise. But all avoiding the topic of the undead that were lurking out in the woods, past the sanctuary of the farm. It was easier to pretend that nothing was happening, Ellie knew, but you couldn't pretend forever.

"So,"Carol began slowly, dragging out each symbol like it would be herlast, "I saw you coming out Daryl's tent this morning."

Ellie's bright blue eyes flickered up faster than the speed of light. She caught Lori's eyes and the small smile on her face, and watched the woman raise an eyebrow before turning her own honey brown eyes to the other woman.

"And?" Ellie mumbled slowly, bracing felt as she did as a 12 year old, when her mother was about to give her the birds and the bees conversation.

"Well,Daryl, he's been through so much and he's trying so hard for the group-"

"Wait a second,, are you afraid that all 116 pound, five foot and three inches of me is going to hurt him?" Ellielaughed, "I'm half his size!" At this point, Lori was trying to conceal her own giggles, her palm pressed against her mouth and hereyes shining.

"Thats not what I meant!" Carol snapped, huffing as she shoved herself up."He is two kind and I can tell he has had to hard of a life to be lead of by a girl like you!" And then she stormed away.

All Ellie could do was stare at Lori with wide eyes and a mouth open to all the insects of the world. But Lori couldn't stop giggling, finally dropping her hand and reaching for Ellie's on the table. She gave it a quick squeeze and then let it go.

"You better watch out, Carol's got her eyes set." Lori giggled more.

"We didn't even do anything!" The blonde defended her self. "It was an accident! I didn't even mean to fall asleep!"

Lori opened her mouth to respond, but at that moment the sound of the cars slinging gravel over took the farm, and the to women stood up to meet them at the porch.


	8. Chapter 8

As The Sun Sets

Daryl didn't mean to, but he kept catching himself thinking of her all strawberry smell of her hair from her shampoo, the soft curve ofher hips, the way her blue eyes sparkled in that early morning sun.

He seemed to be stuck on her.

And he had no idea why.

He had noticed her of course the day her and the younger blonde arrived.

Her attitude and ease drew him in as he watched her chatter away to the group, laughing and fitting in as if SHE had been their from the beginning, not him.

He caught himself staring off into the distance numerous times, then realizing it wasn't a random distance. It was her. Joking around with her sister or pulling her mess of blonde waves to the top of her head into a bun. She was a classic southern belle beauty, small and beautifulwith tanned skin, big blue eyes, and a mess of blonde hair.

She was the type of girl that wouldn't have stared in his direction inbefore all this.

Not that it mattered. He had had his own pack of bar bunnies. And theywere the type you could take home, and send away right after.

Girls like Ellie weren't quick fucks. They were the ones who wanted nice dinners, flowers, and attention.

And Daryl had never dared let himself that close to someone.

He couldn't shake how he felt watching her when he came back, after they briefed the group and went their separate ways. Dinner had been a happy affair that he watched from his place atop the RV, crowssbow onlap. He watched as Ellie threw her head back, laughing as if someone had told the best joke she had ever heard. He watched the campfire light her hair up, the light dancing acrossed her cheeks.

But then she noticed him, and with two bowls in hand, made her way towards him. He sat frozen in place, like a deer in head lights.

"Hey!Are you going to help me or what!" He heard her soft voice callout, and with a sigh he stood up, walking over to lean over the edge.

"Whatthe hell do ya' want?" He grunted down at her, but all she did was raise up her hand with a bowl of soup in it. Crouching down the hunter grabbed it from her and watched her clamber up the remaining steps. He stepped back once she went to pull her self up with her free hand, and went back to take his seat, replacing his crossbow onhis lap.

The food smelled like shit, but boy did it taste like heaven after the two little protein bars and the apple he snagged from the tree next to the barn.

They finished their food in silence.

But it was to good to last, because Daryl could see Ellie twitching,ready to start blabbing on about something or another.

He tried to ignore her, but the tapping of her boot against the aluminum roof of the rv was almost to much for him to handle. "What you got to say, girl?"

"What do you think of Shane?" Ellie began slowly, uncertain on what the archers reaction would be. If he liked Shane she was certain he wouldn't take kindly to her own opinions on him, so she paused, gauging his reaction.

He grunted, his eyes slowly scanning acrossed the farm. Checking for walkers or maybe just for any stragglers who might wander by and listen in. "I aint a fan." Was all he said.

Ellie gave a sigh of relief, her shoulders visibly relaxing.

"Thank god. I thought it was just me."

Daryl glanced over at her quickly, hoping she wouldn't notice. Had he done anything to her? His stomach was beginning to twist and turn.

"When I was leaving your tent this morning, he came up to me. Put his hand on his gun and promised that he would keep an eye on me and Gertie. He was trying to intimidate me." She shivered, not from the cold but from the fact that the thought of that man watching her was nerve wracking.

"That son of a bitch." Daryl growled out before he could stop himself. He wanted to punch him. Hard. To break that already crooked nose and draw blood. And he didnt even know why.

"I know that the dead are literally walking around eating people, but he somehow manages to be worse." Ellie mumbled, pulling her knees up to her chest and resting her chin on her knees.

The archers hands clenched down on the crossbow laying atop his lap, his stomach still rolling. Why should he care? They weren't his problem.

But deeper inside, he knew they were. The moment he saved her was the moment he knew he was going to keep looking out for her. That was who he was, even if he didn't want to be that person. He was doing it for Sophia, and he was going to do it for Ellie and Gertie as well.

"Stay away from him. Somethin' isn't right with him." Daryl grumbled, eyes focusing on the fields yet again.

Things were quite between them again, Ellie slowly tracing the indents and rivets of the RV with her pointer finger.

"Can we share your tent? I feel safer there." Ellie asked boldy.

"Hell no!" The hunter scoffed, face scrunched up at the audacity of her even asking.

XxXxXx

Two hours later, Ellie's and Gerty's bags were repacked and laying on his tents floor, their own tent torn down and shoved sloppily into its bag. Dixon was still not a hundred percent sure how this even ended up happening maybe because she played the Shane card, but he sighed, sliding his boots off as he watched the two girls laugh loudly, trying to get the blankets on their side of the tent nice and comfortable.

He didn't want to admit it, but it was probably the protectiveness he somehow deeply fostered for these girls. They had wormed their way in, and he had no clue how he was going to get them out.

Eventually the two girls settled down and laid on their blankets, Gerty falling asleep quickly. She had had a long day of running around with Carl, playing and laughing right in Lori and Carol's view. It must be so free being so young and carefree.

Daryl was still awake late into the night, not accustomed to the sound of two other people breathing around him, so he just stared straight up to the fabric cloth of the tent roof. He had never had anyone so interested him. In just being close to him. He had never had anyone so willingly trust him right off the bat. Hell, half the group still couldn't stand him, and he'd been with them since day one. When they had all since the two sisters transferring their items a few hours before they had stared at them if they were nuts. Hell Andrea had asked if they were okay, eyeing Daryl allthewhile, as if he had a gun to their heads, making him do it.

"Daryl?" Came a soft whisper from the other side of the tent, and then a soft rustle of fabric as the older blonde sat up. "Daryl, are you awake?" she whispered again.

"Yeah?" He whispered back gruffly.

"Did you hear that? Someone's out there."

Daryl sat up quickly, and shoved on his boots, not bothering to lace them back up. He snatched up his crossbow and quivers, and unzipped the tent flap. The light from the moon shined brightly down, showing that he was still wearing his outfit from earlier. He didn't see much point in changing seeing as the Walkers didn't have a time frame on when they could and couldn't attack.

Ellie quickly crawled over the curled, and still sleeping, form of Gerty, wishing she too slept in her clothes from earlier. There was no way she was going to be able to sleep in her dirt covered clothes from earlier. So here she was, decked in short black cotton shorts and light grey t-shirt. She hadn't even had the foresight to put shoes on, so here she was, standing in the soft breeze that shook the grass in the fields gently, barely dressed and right behind the hunter.

His eyes were darting everywhere, looking for the source of the noise, but Ellie noticed it before him, making a low squeak and pointing frantically in the direction of a soft fast light, flicking slowly behind the doors of the shed the horses were kept.

It was nearly 3 A.M. The tents were quite and the house lights were dark. Everyone was sound asleep, peacefully in their beds.

So, slowly, the duo made their way towards the shed, their feet light and making no noise.

When the reached the shed, Daryl placed his arm on her shoulder, motioning for her to stay quite, and then clutched his knife in his hand, ready to strike any lurkers behind the door. And then suddenly, he kicked the door open, a loud squeak breaking lose as they revealed a breathless Glenn, shirt on the ground and pants unbuttoned, with a frantic Maggie, quickly trying to pull the front of her shirt closed. She seemed to give up and give him a solid shove away from her.

Ellie let out a loud startled laugh, before quickly clamping her hand over her mouth. She didn't want to draw any attention to their group.

"Couldn't ya'll do that shit somewhere else?" Daryl snapped, lowering his knife and sliding it back into its holster.

Glenn, who's face was on fire, frantically pulled his shirt over his head. "W-Where? Your tent, like you guys?" He stammered out, obviously embarrassed. Maggie, done buttoning her shirt, said his name sharply to reprimand him.

Now Daryl's face was afire, and he took a unconscious step away from Ellie. "Ya know it ain't like that!" He snarled back. "Not with her!"

Ellie's heart gave a pang, and she wondered why. She didn't feel anyway certain way about him, besides the fact that she trusted him. Maybe it was just the feeling of rejection, but she scolded herself upon that thought. The dead was literally walking. Boy drama was the least of her worries.

Not that she cared about it opinions anyway.

Okay, maybe she did, a little.

"Well, I'm going to go back to the house before Daddy starts wondering where I'm at." Maggie excused herself, heading back towards the house as quickly as possible

Glenn grumbled something incoherent, heading off towards the Rv. Dale, who had been conveniently looking away the entire time turned and saw Glenn's approach. He said something to him, and Glenn responded, slowly climbing up the ladder to join him.

And that left two.

"Come'on. Lets get back. You aint dressed to be out here wandering." Daryl said nodding to in the direction of the tent she was crashing in. He hadn't noticed what she was wearing until just then, and he swallowed hard.

Sure, he'd seen beautiful women before, but he'd never been this close, or sharing a tent with one. Not that it was ever going to lead to anything. He'd just promised to protect her, that was all. He made a promise and he was going to keep it.

He was having a hard time convincing himself.

Here she was, standing with tan legs shining in the light, messy blonde hair blowing in the soft breeze. He could smell the soft scent of her rose shampoo, and he wanted to grab a fist full of her hair and press it to his nose, breathing it in deeply.

"Yeah." She said, uncharacteristically quite. "I'm done with today."

The hunter cleared his throat, unsure what to do. "You okay?" He flinched at the question. That wasn't a common characteristic of him, he, Daryl Dixon, didn't care what she was thinking about. Merle would be turning over in his grave. Hell, if Merle was here, he'd be mocking him to his face.

Her blue eyes shot up to his and back down.

"I'm just tired. Tired of always being on edge."

He shifted uncomfortably, and Ellie saw. She gave him a light smile. "Lets just go back to the tent? Gertrude's waiting." And then she led the way, weaving through the tent to their own, not noticing the figure watching them from the distance. Instead, she crawled into the tent, covered herself up, and turned away from the hunter.

Listening softly, Ellie heard him push off his boots and lay on his own pile of blankets. He let out a long sigh. This was going to be hard.


	9. Chapter 9

Wreckless Fool

"You going out searching?" The older blonde asked in the late morning, her legs infront of her Indian style. Breakfast hadn't passed calmly this morning. Their had been a massive argument about whether searching for the missing girl was frivolous or not. It had been pretty heated. And there were almost a few punches thrown.

So when Ellie saw Daryl stomp back to his tent, she followed him after giving Maggie a parting good-bye. The brunette was healing up nicely, and had wandered out when the argument broke out.

Ellie had followed him in and plopped on the ground, folding her legs infront of her quickly to avoid him from stomping on her still sore ankle accidentally.

"Yeah." He grumbled under his breath. He was trying his best not to take his anger out on her. She had been one of the few to speak on his behalf, agreeing that they should continue searching for the missing girl.

"I'm coming."

"Lke hell you are!" He snapped back at her, shoving an extra knife set into his belt loop. You could never have to many knives in this new world. Or guns. Or anything sharp enough to crack open a skull. "You're still hurt, ya fool."

Ellie rolled her eyes, grabbing her own bag and making sure the two water bottles and powerbars she had placed inside incase of emergency was still there. They were, so she zipped it up and pulled it over her shoulders. She stood up, checking to make sure the knife her father called a Tom Brown Tracker Knife was still holstered to her right leg.

"I said you're not coming!" The hunter yelled at her, whipping around and grabbing the arm of her backpack.

"I'm coming, you big headed idiot! It's not safe out there by yourself!" Ellie growled loudly back, taking a step back. He didn't realize how tightly he was grabbing her strap, because her jerk movement caused her so stumble, falling the ground, and him falling ontop of her. He scrambled up like he was on fire.

"God, can't you keep your damn hands to yourself?!" He snarled harshly.

Ellie pushed herself up, fists clenched. "You fell on me you jackass! What is your problem?! I was just trying to help!" Ellie's eyes were watering now, and she reached up and wiped them. "You are an asshole. Why wont you let anyone help you? I just want to know you."

Ellie flinched. She didn't mean to say the last part. She didn't know where that came from. She hadn't meant to say it. But she was still to angry to really care. "I'm going to find Gertrude, you jackass. Try not to get killed until you find that girl." She went to stomp off, and then whipped around, she threw her backpack at him full force, muttering about how big of a jackass he was.

Gertrude was only a few feet away, and she shook her head. "You two are so stupid." She told her sister, quickining to meet her angry pace.

"What?" Ellie snapped, taken aback.

"I know you. You like him."

Ellie snorted, rolling her eyes. "No I don't. I barely know the guy."

"You have a savior complex. And I know you. Better than you know you."

Ellie let out a loud puff of annoyance, throwing her hands in the air and storming away.

She needed to exert some energy or she was going to go back a pumble him.

She made her way into the stables where she peeked at Glenn, pitchfork in hand. He was spreading hay out, a look of intense concentration on his face.

"From delivery boy to farmer Bob!" Ellie called out upon entering, giggling as the Korean flicked a pitchfork full of hay in her direction.

"So, how was last night?" She inquired, wiggling her eyebrows at him. His face turned crimson and he turned back to the large pile of hay he was spreading in the stalls.

"Did you?" He quipped back.

"Why does everyone think that about us? Hes obnoxious and mean and he only cares for about himself. God, just talking about him makes me angry." By now Ellie had stormed over, grabbing a giant arm full of hay and throwing it onto the ground, kicking it to spread it out.

Glenn had stopped now, leaning against the pitchfork, his eyebrows raised. "Well, you guys are sharing a tent."

Ellie threw her hands in the air, stay pieces of hay falling to the ground. "With my twelve year old sister! And only because of Shane!"

Suddenly a brown haired head popped up from the last stall, curious. "What did Shane do?" Maggie askes curiously.

"When did you- ugh nevermind." The blonde shook her head, petting the head of the white horse that rubbed his nose against her hair. After a moments hesitation she told them about the weird encounter a few nights past.

"Theres something off with him. I know it. The story he told us about Otis...it doesnt check out." Maggie murmured, shaking her head. "I'm going to have to tell Daddy."

"Maggie, thats not a good idea. Hes already mad about Daryl taking the horse-" Glenn began before Ellie cut him off.

"Please dont. Please, I dont want to make things worse."

Maggie sighed, putting her hands on her hios and shaking head. "Fine, but if he does anything else, Im going straight to my father."

XxXxXxXx

After their conversation in the shed Ellie wandered around aimlessly. She spent three hours playing with Carl and Gerty, another helping wash and hang launry even though she detested it, and the rest of the afternoon subconciously thinking of Daryl. Sunset was approaching and even though she was still mad at him, she was starting to worry. He had never stayed out this late when he searched for Sophia.

She felt something was wrong in the pit of her stomach.

And then the bang of a gun rang out acrossed the farm and time stood still. That was until Rick and T-Dog came running up the stairs, a bleeding Daryl limping at their sides.

Ellies vision blurred as she chased after them, her heart pounding in her chest.

"Ellie, whats happening?!" Gerty screamed. Ellie turned around, frantically grabbing at her sister and pushing her towards the door.

"Stay with Carol, okay? I'll come get you later okay?"

Tears were streaming down the younger sisters face. "Is he going to be okay?"

Ellie shoved at her sister, pushing her out the front door. "Just go! I'll come get you later."

She slammed the door in Gertrudes face before scrambling down the hall. In swconds she was slammed onto the floor, her nose smacking with a loud crack. She was blinded by the pain, clutching at her nose as hot liquid streamed down her face, soaking her white tank top. Shoving herself up and squinting at the floor through tear filled eyes.

Blood. She had slipped on his blood.

Her stomach started doing summer salt and she swallowed back vomit, dropping her hands and letting the blood from her nose drip free as she raced into the room.

Hershel was leaning over his body, snapping on gloves as Patricia pulled a cart full of medical supplies forward.

"Ellie, help Rick hold him down, im going to have to pull the arrow loose." Ellie rushed forward gripping at his shoulder and he yelled in pain. He was filthy covered in dirt and blood, he was drenched in sweat and smelled like fresh hell.

She pressed down hard squeezing her eyes shut as Hershel braced himself and yanked out the remainder of the arrow.

"Fucking christ!" Daryl roared his body jerking forward before collapsing breathlessly onto the bed.

"Okay," Hershel sighed, "now I'm going to stitch up the wound. Those painkillers I gave him should start kicking in." He ripped open Daryls shirt, the buttons popping and falling to the floor, revealing a very questionable necklace made of ears, but a chest full of scars littered acrossed his chest. At this point Daryl was unconcious, thankfully because Ellie winced as the vet dumped straight alcohol right onto the jagged hole.

"Jesus, what happened to you?" T-Dog asked from the foot of the bed, eyes wide and going back and forth from Daryl being stitched to her bloody broken nose. "You look almost as bad as him."

"I slipped," she winced slowly letting go of Daryl and touching it gently, "on Daryls blood. I wasnt paying attention and fell forward and smacked my face on the floor. Think I broke it."

T-Dog snorted, crossing his eyes. "Looks like you broke your damn face."

Hershel quickly glanced up from his work before back down. "I'll take a look at you in a moment, but for now, everyone that isnt hurt or assisting me needs to leave."

T-Dog slinked out first, happy to be away from the blood, and Rick slowly followed, glancing at Ellie. She gave him a reasuring nod. He left, softly shutting the door behind him.

"Ellie..."

She looked down, seeing Daryl, eyes barely open.

"Ellie..."

She leaned forward, pushing his hair away from his forehead. "Yes, what is it."

"You were there." He whispered his eyes fluttering.

"Where? Where was i?"

"You helped me. You got me back here. You saved me."

"Daryl, I was here."

Patricia stepped forward, wiping at his forehead with a moist cloth. "He's in shock with from the accident, and has had quite a large dose of painkillers."

Daryl was still staring at Ellie, his eyes heavily lidded. "God your beautiful."

Patricia smiled slyly, pretending not to hear and turning away, but to the rolling cart.


End file.
